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| The Voyage of INTREPID | |
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"Boat Choice" |
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| One might think that a city with a name like Anchorage might be a boater's paradise. The fact is that the waters on either side of Anchorage
have 30 foot tidal ranges with flows traveling at up to 15 miles per hour, and when the tide is out what is left are miles and miles of treacherous
mud flats. During most of the winter, both inlets, the Cook and the Turnagain, are choked with ice. There is only one boat launch ramp in the
city, and certainly there are no marinas here. But thankfully, there are a number of lakes and rivers nearby that offer first rate boating experiences.
More importantly, the ports in Whittier and Seward offer access to the desirable part of the sea, and the fjords, and the wild,
wild, water-lined wilderness of Prince William Sound.
If I were successfully retired or had all the time and money in the world, I would build a proper blue-water sailboat and cruise that world. But I am not and I don't. I currently work two jobs, one full time at a (to be filled in later) store and one part time at an (to be filled in later). Working seven days a week keeps me above the poverty level and keeps me out of trouble, but just barely. My boating strategy can be easily summed up: Get in, get out, get back to work. Oh...and have some fun, too. This means that, for now, the sailboat is out and some kind of power boat is in.
There were a few boats that I seriously considered
Any of these boats would be able to get me out to Surprise Glacier and back. However, I am sure that each would take more than a year to build, and I would probably need a vehicle larger than a Ford Taurus to pull any of them. The cost of boat storage is another factor for these larger small boats. My landlord already has tenants storing two 24-foot boats across the street from me, so I'm sure a proposed third would not be entertained. And speaking of my landlord, I am very grateful that he is allowing me to build Intrepid in my backyard. He said to me, "As long as you can get it out, you may build it." The picture below shows a limiting factor of getting the boat out of the back yard. There are only 80-inches clearance between the building on the left and the porch enclosure on the right. None of the aforementioned boats can fit through this space. Assuming that I can't take my downstairs neighbor's porch apart, and my back fence neighbor won't let me traverse his property, and a crane to lift the boat over the house once it is completed would be too expensive, the only thing I can do is ... downsize?
I found a web site called Duckworks that sells plans from a number of designers that specialize in small boats for amateur wanna-be boat builders like me. I reviewed Jim Michalak's section and saw his Dorado. At 18-feet long and 5.5-feet wide, I thought this boat just might be the smallest that would fulfill my needs (and fit into my backyard.) A smile came across my face while I was looking at a picture of Ashley Cook operating his home built Dorado in some pretty unsettled waters off Australia. I thought either this guy is a nut, or the boat actually works in that type of water. The boat has a fine entry with angled chines all the way back to the transom on a narrow flat bottomed hull. This might mean slow-going and lots of pounding in any kind of chop, or it might mean a sleek easily driven hull that can handle light chop at moderate speeds. You know what? I would like to find out for myself. I ordered the plans from Duckworks at a cost of $42.50. The designer, Jim Michalak, has a personal web page at http://jimsboats.com/ containing information about his boats and design philosophies. It's funny that the deciding factor as to what boat to build would be governed by what I could get out of my backyard, but all boating is about compromise of one sort or another. A line drawing of this boat is posted at the top of every page to this site. |
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Glen L Marine has a book of boat plans that has mesmerized me for over 20 years. The 17-foot Sea Knight has just about everything I would want in
a small cruiser, except maybe standing headroom. She takes up to a 100 hp outboard motor.
I fell in love with Atkin's Sunflower, a raised deck cruiser 22-feet 11-inches long. She has just the right amount of room in the cockpit and the
cabin, and can cruise at 20 mph on a 50 horsepower inboard. Look at the outboard rudder--how cool is that!
The Bartender, at 22-feet and 7-inches, has to be the most seaworthy powerboat of her size. Can take up to a 90 hp outboard, or up to a 200 hp
inboard engine. The company offering the plans also has a frame kit for this boat. I like their 26-footer too.
The largest Simmons Sea Skiff comes in at just under 22-feet, and also has a reputation of being extremely seaworthy. Can take up to a 90 hp outboard.